Billie Maree - We Belong EP (Want To Know Records)
Release Date: Out Now
The release of this debut EP is the culmination of Billie Maree's emergence in to the glare of the music world but my sense is that this is just the beginning of a longer journey so this is your chance to get in on the ground floor. 'We Belong' finds the Totnes based singer-songwriter in reflective mood as she weaves tales with a combination of deft guitar playing, sultry vocals and a few flourishes in just the right places. The EP opens with 'Whale Eyes' which drifts in off the moor in the early morning mist to bathe us in the warmth of those acoustic strings and that dark velvet vocal with just a sparse, Jose Gonzalez-esque beat and some swooning strings for company.
'Young Child' is about seeing the world with innocence and wonder once more and although the guitar stumbles with uncertainty, there is a purity and beauty in the vocal which puts me in mind of Mae Karthauser or Zoe Johnston. The mid-point of the EP is 'We Belong' which has one of those stirring, folk-inspired choruses that will move you to the soul as the vocals layer over one another like fine sheets weighing you down in a sense of deep belonging.
Penultimate track 'Darkest Winter' is about as introspective as music can get and yet still sounds like a gently thawing stream rippling over smooth pebbles, cleansing and washing away the trials and tribulations of the mind. The EP closes out on 'Moon' which is the perfect song for heading in to winter as you want to just wrap it's somber warmth around you and settle in for the cold, dark nights. Billie Maree has a natural talent for creating an earthy and ethereal sound with minimal instrumentation and that is something to be celebrated and enjoyed. Definitely one to watch and an EP to revel or wallow in depending on your mindset.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/billiemareemusic
Live Dates:
14th November - EP Launch Show @ St Mary's Church, Totnes w/Mia Nicholls